a jaunt in bloom

LupusLa Edible Centerpieces

The annual Orange Ball to support LupusLA was held last night at the Beverly Wilshire in Los Angeles. Sherry Yard commissioned chocolate showpieces packed with bite size desserts for the center of 50 tables for the 350 benefit guests. The event was quite an undertaking that I was more than happy to lend a hand to. From trips to Moskatels(a giant Michael's)to mixing vats of orange water to schlepping flower filled vases back and forth to the tables, it was a rewarding day. Dr. Tim Gallagher was so generous to gift the 50 centerpieces to the charity gala, and auction himself along with Sherry off for a day of baking. I truly admire people's willingness to give of themselves, both monetarily and physically, for good causes. My roommate has the only halfway decent picture of our endeavor, and I will upload it in due time. Tommorow I will be supporting the Heart Foundation's dinner honoring Wolfgang Puck, also at the Beverly Wilshire. Chocolate, packaging, strawberries and Anna Pavlova are on the itinerary. Good causes are a good thing.


Live well and creatively within your means and happiness will radiate from within.

three for three

I am three for three on the little dessert diddy.
buttermilk pie-ish with graviola strawberries
pain perdu d'amandes-ish with mascarpone and bing cherries
yuzu, creme fraiche, caramel corn, toast and sour creme sorbet...-ish

....just throwing it out there

Kumquat Finale

The last of my gently poached and expertly gutted kumquats have met their sweet end. Their demise came in the form of fluffy yuzu marshmallow. I put the life back into the kumquat and took a floral approach with yuzu. Created specially for their (cross your fingers) ability to be shipped in all sorts of weather conditions, including any random pit stops on sunny loading docks in kentucky (oh it has happened), these bitter-sweet treasures will hopefully delight everyone at MSL. Have you brought out the tweezers yet and gotten candying? Please be smart Dirt Cakers and sterilize anything that is used from your medicine cabinet!(I am talking about the tweezers)

Dirt Cake is on My Mix Blog

Reviewing Mix My Granola was a blast, and they have written a little diddy about Dirt Cake on their Granola Blog. No not their hippie blog, their tastes so good granola blog. Check it out at MixMyGranola and hey, order some awesome granola while you are at it.

High Tea with Common Threads

At the Accelerated School on South Main Street in Los Angeles, there is a branch of a fantastic cooking program called Common Threads. The LA program coordinator, Alicia Catelli is a friend of mine and she asked if I would teach the final class of this year's program. The classes educate kids about different world cuisines and culture. I chose Great Britain, surprised?! We chatted about the Union Jack, the rich soil and High Tea. Afternoon Tea is for the non working class taking place at 4 pm, where as High Tea is for those working a full day, taking place at 6 pm. I think we hit the middle mark and had a combination of Afternoon and High Tea. I was so impressed by the children's ability to follow direction and their ability to get in there and cook. We made a jazzed up version of a cucumber tea sandwich, with lemon poppy cream cheese spread, cucumbers, cheddar cheese and whole wheat bread. For our cream tea we made incredible blueberry scones with a hint of orange zest. The fragrance of the orange oils really woke up the kids to the possibilities of their usually discarded fruit peels! Whipped cream, macerated strawberries and chai tea topped of our Tea Time. I had such an incredible time with everyone and knowing that they walked away with a bit of a sugar kick and a smile on their face made it all worthwhile.

Tea Sandwiches

Simple and versatile, dress up cream cheese for a new sandwich spread.


1/4 pound unsalted butter
8 oz cream cheese
2 Tablespoons blue poppy seeds
One lemon
1/8 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
One loaf of whole wheat bread
1/2 pound of thick cheddar cheese slices
2 English cucumbers

1. Cream together the room temperature butter and cream cheese.
2. Season with salt and pepper.
3. Add poppy seeds zest of one lemon.
4. Juice the lemon and add one Tablespoon of lemon juice to the spread.
5. Lay out the bread slices on a tray.
6. Spread an even layer of cream cheese mixture on each slice.
7. Slice the cucumber into 1/8th inch slices. Distribute in an even layer over half of the bread slices.
8. Lay cheddar cheese over the other half of the bread slices.
9. Sandwich together the cheese bread and the cucumber bread.
10. Cut each sandwich in half at an angle and then in half again at an angle.
Enjoy!

Jaffe Cakes

Some of you may be familiar with the bitter orange British snacks cakes, and others may be in the dark...chocolate. Picture hostess style cakes, in lunch boxes all over the nation. Change the country and flavors and you have Jaffe Cakes. Traditionally you will bite into a vanilla sponge with bitter seville orange dipped in chocolate. Never one to stay on the straight and narrow I took the Jaffe Cake concept and sent it straight into kumquat land. Kumquats were poached gently in syrup and through trial and error, the centers were removed, while keeping the shell tear free. The whole process was an intense game of Operation. Once the kumquats were gutted, I filled them with almond financier seasoned with orange oil and vanilla. Baked in little cubby holes, the kumquats maintained their original shape. Their insides were now transformed into little treasures of brown butter and almond. Instead of dipping everything in a straight up chocolate flocage, I decided on a fudgey glaze that maintained it's integrity with the addition of manjari and gelatin. This cake treats are quite a bit of work, but definitely worth it in the end. Let your mouth water a bit and then get into the kitchen and get to surgery and chocolate!

Kentucky Derby

Right before my NYC adventure, I went to my roomie Sahar's friends party. Tai and Andrew's white abode was a fun high rise setting for a derby party. Their apartment seriously has the best lighting. Tai, the Chef of Honor was in the kitchen whipping up Southern comfort foods appropriate for the occasion. Tai and Sahar met in Culinary School and have been buddies ever since. A former model, Tai is a taste for your eyes and stomach. I am probably making him blush right now, but seriously, he is a great Chef. One of my favorite snacks was his Kentucky Hot Browns. While I was munching on these turkey delights, the Top Chefs were battling it out on TV with their own Kentucky Hot Browns. Simple to assemble, here is another savory treat for all of you sweet lovers out there.

Kentucky Hot Browns

Ingredients:
1 loaf sourdough bread
1/2 lb sliced turkey breast
1/4 lb bacon, cooked until crispy
pint cherry tomatoes, halved
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup heated milk
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
salt
white pepper
freshly ground nutmeg (optional)

1. Slice the sourdough bread and toast slightly.
2. Toss the cherry tomatoes in olive oil salt and pepper.
3. Chop the bacon into 1/2 inch pieces.
4. In a heavy bottomed saucepan melt the butter.
5. Add the flour and stir continuously on low heat until golden brown.
6. Whisk in the milk. Whisk in the cheese.
7. Season with salt, white pepper and nutmeg.

To Assemble:
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F
1. Lay out the toast on a sheet tray.
2. Place pieces of turkey on each piece of toast in a ribbon fashion (it always tastes better this way!)
3. Place two halves of the seasoned cherry tomatoes on top of the turkey.
4. Drizzle each toast generously with Bechamel sauce.
5. Top with two pieces of portioned bacon.
6. Toast in the oven for 5 minutes. Turn 5 minutes more.

Enjoy!!

In the City

New York City was amazing. Everything I wanted to accomplish and have happen did!!! I had an overdue reunion with my girlfriends at Spice Market, and afterwards a stop at the bar at Public for traditions sake. Pommes Frites with mexican ketchup and rosemary garlic mayo topped off the night. Monday was full of sweet adventures with Sherry Yard where we made stops at Momofuku Milk Bar, Milk and Cookies, Jaques Torres Chocolates, and Pure Dark chocolate lounge.

Lunch at DB Bistro Moderne with Emily Luchetti, Sherry Yard and Pichet Ong was full of laughter and entertaining stories.

I of course had to stop in to the new Top Shop, a girl can't just spend all of her time with sweets! Great frocks are of equal importance!!

Off to work, pictures will ensue!!!